5 Artists on Our Radar in December 2023

“Artists on Our Radar” is a monthly series focused on five artists who have our attention. Utilizing our art expertise and Artsy data, we’ve determined which artists made an impact this past month through new gallery representation, exhibitions, auctions, art fairs, or fresh works on Artsy.

Mathias Bensimon

B. 1996, Paris. Lives and works in Paris.

In Cosmic Waves (2023), Mathias Bensimon dots his canvas with pale flecks against a moody, dark blue background that evokes thunderous skies. This shimmering painting uses mother-of-pearl and aluminum pigment to create a glowing texture that explores the properties of light—a phenomenon that Bensimon calls “the heart of his practice.” Oranges, yellows, and luminous blue tones bloom across the artist’s canvases, creating enticing abstractions inspired by microbiology and the natural world. During his studies, Bensimon worked in the studio of the well-known Belgian minimalist Ann Veronica Janssens, whose practice also takes light as its starting point. As a visual artist and performer, Bensimon is interested in looking beyond the visible realm to reveal the intangible elements outside our perception.

Bensimon graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 2022, and was selected from his graduating class to present a commission at the French Ministry of Culture this fall. He has had solo shows at Galerie Loft, and at Ghost Galerie’s contemporary art space, Ghost Projects. Earlier this year, the artist also created a collaborative pastel work as part of a live performance at the Musée d’Orsay, and in 2021, he was shortlisted for the Dior de la Colle Noire Award.

—Josie Thaddeus-Johns

Anna Calleja

B. 1997, Malta. Lives and works in Malta.

Anna Calleja’s soft, textural paintings are full of creature comforts: rumpled white bedding, fuzzy sweaters, house slippers, mugs cradled between two hands. Often employing tight, focused compositions, her images emanate warmth, suggesting scenes of cozy domesticity that unfurl beyond the objects in frame.

In “Breakthrough,” a recent group exhibition at James Fuentes in New York, a trio of Calleja’s paintings was featured alongside works by other artists who examine interiors, whether of the mind or the home. In Calleja’s work, the former is tied up in the latter: There is a psychological undercurrent to her subjects, often giving off hints of anxiety, anticipation, or listlessness. In Black Mirror (2023), an iPhone rests idly on top of bed linens; the face reflected in its blank screen seems to be hovering, awaiting a message. Another recurring subject is people laying down with their shoes on—as if expecting a reason to get up and do something.

Calleja received her BA in fine art from Falmouth University in England, and has exhibited around the United Kingdom and in her native Malta. Earlier this year, she was included alongside artists like Maggi Hambling and Derek Jarman in an exhibition honoring Oscar Wilde at L’Hotel in Paris.

—Olivia Horn

Yoonhee Choi

B. 1986, Gyeonggi, South Korea. Lives and works in Seoul.

Yoonhee Choi’s oil paintings are mesmerizing fusions of art and physics, where her canvases become playgrounds for abstract explorations that echo the fundamental processes of the universe. Her swirling, incandescent brushstrokes seem to embody the rhythms of natural phenomena, evoking images of cosmic gasses swirling on the sun’s surface, the intricate dance of cellular division, or the invisible, sinusoidal waveforms that undergird light, sound, and technology. In “Thick Skin,” a new exhibition on view through December 23rd at G Gallery in Seoul, Choi’s paintings—presented alongside sculptures by Sueyon Hwang—embody energy in its many forms, capturing the essence of elements in perpetual motion.

Choi holds a BFA in painting from Gachon University in Seoul, and completed her MFA at Korea National University of Arts. She has exhibited widely in her native Korea, including solo exhibitions earlier this year at A-Lounge Gallery, and in 2019 at the OCI Museum of Art.

—Jordan Huelskamp

Alejandro García Contreras

B. 1982, Chiapas, Mexico. Lives and works in Guadalajara, Mexico.

In “Frágil: El Misterio De Los Seres Sensibles,” Alejandro García Contreras’s first solo show at Swivel Gallery in New York—and his first major solo show in the U.S.—symbols from Mexican folklore are embedded within references to popular culture, mythology, the supernatural, and religion. This amalgam of influences propels what the gallery calls the artist’s “quest to grasp the mystery of the genesis of the Universe.”

The energetic presentation is typical of the Mexican artist, who approaches his practice as “both alchemist and shaman.” Shreds of figuration and dense pits of color collide in his glazed ceramics, which fuse disparate elements, from anime to pre-Hispanic symbology. A sense of vigorous movement is a constant, seen in the series of snake-like sculptures that populate the gallery floor, assuming threatening stances; and in a series of vibrant paintings where strands of color swirl, dance, and blend together, contained in thickly decorated frames.

Contreras received a degree in visual art from Mexico City’s Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes. This year, his work was featured in solo shows at Travesia Cuatro in Guadalajara and Saenger Galería in Mexico City, and in group presentations at Friedman Benda in New York and David Castillo in Miami.

—Arun Kakar

Yanjun Li

B. 1998, Kunming, China. Lives and works in New York

New York–based painter Yanjun Li’s ethereal abstractions transport viewers to new realms. Working at large scale, the artist produces glistening compositions that appear translucent and endless. Her work fosters a dialogue between the seen and the unseen, as she skilfully embeds hidden symbols and meanings just beneath their painted surfaces. A selection of Li’s paintings is on view through December 16th in a group exhibition, “Latent Rhythm,” at Jack Barrett in New York.

Leveraging abstraction’s resistance to tangibility and literal interpretation, Li’s work considers the dynamics of relationships, harnessing the sort of interpersonal energies that transcend language. The visually stirring results of this approach are on view at Jack Barrett, as in Submerge (2023), which depicts an otherworldly expanse of water with glossy droplets and overlapping waves. Similarly, in Threshold (2023), form and color coalesce, as Li employs fluid brushwork to achieve maximum luminosity.